Electric railway signaling system.



No. 747,326. PATENTED'DEOIM, 1903. 0. W. MILLS & W. W. PIDDINGTON. ELECTRIC RAILWAY SIGNALING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14.1902. RENEWED MAY 1.1903.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 747,326. PATENTED DEC. 15, 1903. G. W. MILLS & W. W. PIDDINGTON. ELECTRIC RAILWAY SIGNALING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION TILED JULY 1- 1902. RENEWED MAY 1. 1903.

NO MODEL. 3 SHEE'IQ-SHEET Z.

39 LL j? x j H Q/d No. 747,326. PATENTED DEC. 15, 1903. I 0. W. MILLS & W. W. PIDDINGTON. I

ELECTRIC RAILWAY SIGNALING SYSTEM;

APPLIGATION'FILED JULY 14. 1902. RENEWED MAY 1. 1903.

H0 MODEL. 3 SHEETSSHBET 3.

THE mums nuns can, Puo'mumm wxsnmmom n c UNITED STATES Patented December 15, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES W. MILLS AND WILLIAM W. PIDDINGTON, OF LOS ANGELES, CALI- FORNIA, ASSIGNORS OF THREE-EIGHTHS TO JOHN L. VON BLOM AND GEORGE C. DE GARMS, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY SIGNALING SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 747,326, dated December 15, 1903.

I Application filed July l4,1902. Renewed May 1, 1903. Serial No. 155,222. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES W. MILLs and WILLIAM W. PIDDINGTON, citizens of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electric Railway Signaling Systems, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an electric signal- [0 ing system,and the same is capable of an advantageous use in connection with steam or electric railways, and it can be readily installed, and in order to save expense in this respect We prefer to employ the rails constitut-ing a part of such railway as'a part of the conductors through which the currents con.- trolling the signals upon the vehicles can pass. The circuits are so organized that when two trains or cars, each carrying a pair of signals distinguishable one from another, are in a block certain signals will be operated, so that each engineer or motorman can by the nature of his signal determine the location of the other train or car.

2 5 In the present case We have shown the signaling system as employed in connection with a steam-railway, in which case the pairs of signals are situated in the cabs of the engines or locomotives, although, of course, it

will be understood that the invention is not limited in this respect, and said signals con sist, preferably, of green and red lamps. The conductors constituting a part of the system are so arranged, as will hereinafter appear,

5 5 that when the trains are traveling toward each other in a block the red lamps in the cabs will be simultaneously flashed and when one'train is following another in such block the green lamp in the first engine will be 40 flashed, while the red lamp in the second engine will be simultaneously flashed. The engines each carry telephone apparatus which can be put into circuit with each other, by virtue of which one engineer can instruct the other to take a siding, or, in fact, any other orders'may be transmitted by one to the other, and, as will hereinafter appear, the telephonic signals are transmitted over the same conductors comprising the signal circuits.

We prefer to employ lamps as signals, for the same are better adapted to use in the system, as they can be more readily seen at night than semaphore arms or targets.

We prefer to mount in the cabs audible signals, such as bells, which will be operated as soon as the signal-circuits are closed, so as to warn the engineers in case they should not see the lamps.

As a part of the conductor system, as be- 6o fore stated, we prefer to employ the rails of the railway and in connection therewith use a duplex conductor, which is coextensive with the rails, and contact members, such as Wheels, are adapted to travel against the rails and said conductor, and by reason of this disposition of parts the lamps will re-' main lighted for a relatively long period, so

as to give the engineers ample and timely notice of their proximity to each other.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which Figures 1 and 2 are diagrammatic views of an electric signaling system embracing our invention and' showing in Fig. 1 two trains in a block approaching each other and in Fig. 2 two trains in a block one following the other. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of part of the conducting system and the trailing contact member that operates with the intermediate conductor. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a circuit-controlling device adapted to be arranged in adjacence to a drawbridge or the like, and Fig. 5 is an elevation of the same.

Like characters refer to like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

Referring now to. the drawings, the numerals 1 and 2 indicate parallel rails of the track, which, it will be seen, are laid in sections separated from each other, and these rails preferably constitute a part of the conductors for carrying the currents to operate the signals in the cabs of the locomotives traveling on said track. It will be of course cars, can carry the said signals. Codperating with the rails 1 and 2 is a duplex conductor, denoted in a general Way by 3 and which is substantially coextensive with the rails, and it will be seen upon reference to Figs. 1 and 2 that the rails and the conductor are laid in sections separated, respectively, from each other to form breaks, and a series of these alined sections constitute a block. While it is not necessary, the duplex conductor 3 is shown as being arranged between the rails, this being adopted merely for economy in space.

The dnplexconductor 3 consists of a wooden body provided upon its upper sides with conducting-strips or parts 4 and 5, arranged in parallelism and the body serving to insulate these strips, which are preferably countersunk in the body. Angle-irons, as b, are preferably bolted to the opposite sides of the wooden body of the duplex conductor 3, and their bases are likewise secured to the crossties of the track.

The.vehicles which carry the signals are denoted by 7 and 8, and in the present case they consist of locomotives,such signals being conveniently situated in the cab of said locomotives, and each of the latter is provided-say upon its upper sidewith a traveling contact member, denoted in a general way by 9 and shown in detail in Fig. 3.

The traveling contact member 9 is in the form of a wheel carried by a shaft 10, which is supported by yielding bearings 11,monnted in hangers 12, depending irom the cab,-and said members 9 consist of disks 13, of metal or other conducting material, bolted together and separated by insulating material 14.

These traveling contact-disks 13 are adapted to engage at all times the parts 4 and 5 of the duplex conductor or intermediate rail 3.

Referring to the left of Fig. 1, it will be seen that the rail 1 is connected with the strip 5 and that the rail 2 is connected with the strip 4 by crossover-wires 15 and 16 at the ends of adjacent sections of the rails and duplex conductor, respectively, orat the breaks therebetween and that the succeeding two sections of the duplex conductor and the rail are connected by wires 17, 18, 19, and 20, the

wire 17 extending from the rail 1 to the strip 4, the wire 18 from the rail 1 to the strip 4 at opposite sides of the break, while the same follows with respect to the strip 5 and the rail 2, and this relation of the crossover-wires 15 and 16 and the connecting-wires17, 18, 19, and 20 is alternately repeated throughout the track system. Of course where the continuity of arail is broken, as by the switch 46, the rail at the opposite sides of the switch has the wire 21 connected therewith, so as to bridge the break made by said switch, as shown in Fig. 1.

The cabs 7 and 8 carry generators of some kind, which when the circuits in which the lamps are situated are closed cause the lighting of such lamps, and said generators consist, preferably, of secondary batteries 22.

Wires 23 extend from one side of the secondary batteries to the electromagnets 24,from which the wires 25 extend, such wires being branched at 26 and 27, so that the current flowing from the batteries can be split at the junction of the branches to flow along each of the latter. The branches 26 lead into the red lamps 28, while the branches27 lead into the green lamps 29. Wires 30 lead from the red lamps to the contact-clips 31 of switches 32, the contact-clips 33 of said switches being connected by wires 34 with the green lamps 29.

The cooperating arms of the switch are denoted by 35 and 36, and the wires 37 and 38 extend from the pivots of said arms to the insulated disks 13 of the compound trailing conducting-wheel 9.

The wheels of the vehicles are each denoted by 39 and ofcourse when the two trains enter the block form part of the circuit, and they are connected by the wires 40 with the secondary batteries 22.

It will be remembered that the signal-circuits each contain a magnet 24, and these magnets constitute the means for actuating circuit-controllers for local circuits, as will hereinafter appear, for closing said local circuits, and thereby operating audible signals, such as bells.

By virture of the connections pointed out the signals in the railway-cabs can be operated so as to show each engineer the location of another train on the track. When they are in adjacent blocks and moving toward each other, the red lamps when the signalcircuits are closed will be simultaneously flashed, or when one train is following another the first train will showagreen lamp and the second a red lamp.

In Fig. 2 we show two vehicles or trains 7 and 8 traveling toward each other and with arms of the switches 32 on the contacts 31 and 33. The circuit will be established as follows: The current from the battery on the right will pass from the positive side thereof to the Wire 23, magnet'24, wires 25 and 26, and red lamp 28. The current then passes from the red lamp to the wire 30, from thence to the contact 31 and switch-arm 36, to the wire 37, and strip 4, through a disk 13, along said strip 4 to the connecting-wire 18, to the rail 1 and wire 21, and then to the rail 1, to the crossover-wire 15, to the strip 5, wire 19, rail 2, wheel 39 of the vehicle, and hence to the wire 40, and then to the negative side of the battery 22 on the left. It then enters the wire 23 from the plus side of said battery at the left, and hence the magnet 24 and wires 25 and 26, red lamp 28, wire 30, switch-arm 36, wire 37 to disk 13, strip 5, from whence it passes to the connecting-wire 20, to the rail 2, crossover-wire 16, strip 4, connecting-wire 17, rail 1, wheel 39, and then to wire 40, from peculiar arrangement of rails, duplex conductor, crossover, and connecting-wires.

From. a switch-tongue 46 and the adjacent contact-strip 4 we extend the conductor or wire 47, divided at a suitable point in its length, as at 48, and the adjacent ends of this break have suitable contacts which when the switch is opened are put into engagement, so as to close the circuit in which a red lamp is situated, whereby when the locomotive carrying the same approaches a certain distance of said switch said lamp will flash, so as to indicate to the engineer that there is danger ahead, and he can ascertain at once whether this is from a locomotive or from an open switch by resorting to his telephone. If he gets no response, it will indicate at once that the danger is due to'an open switch or something of this nature.

When the switch 46 is opened, the circuit will take the following path: From the positive side of the battery 22 on the right it will enter .the wire 23, magnet 24, wire 25, branch wire 26,- red lamp 28, wire 30, contact 31,

switch-arm 36, through wire 37, to disk 13, to

strip 4, wire 18, rail 1, wire 2l,-switch 46, wire 47, strip 4, wire 17, to rail 1, to wheel 39,

' and back to the negative side of the battery 22 by the wire 40. The same result will follow with the engine 7. The engines 7 and 8 carry in their cabs bells 50, connected by the wires 51 to the batteries 52, wires 53, leading from said batteries to the contacts 54, while similar contacts 55 are connected by wires 56 with the bells. The local circuits, in which the bells are located, are adapted to be closed by the circuit-closers 57, which are in the nature of armatures for the electromagnets 24. It will be evident, therefore, that the instant the signal-circuit is closed in the manner indicated the magnets 24 will attract their armatures 57, so as to bridge the contacts 54 and 55,and thereby close the circuits in which said bells are located, whereby said bells will be rung to notify the engineers that they are approaching each other. These bells are subordinate, of course, to the signal-lamps; but they are important, for they are relied upon to notify the engineers of danger in case they should not see the lamps. Telephones 58 are also mounted in the cabs, and wires, as 59, extend from the same to the wires 40, while wires also lead from the telephones and are branched at a point beyond the same, the branches being connected with the contactclips 61 and 62, respectively. It will be evident, therefore, that by carrying the arms of the switches 32 OK the contacts 31 and 33 and putting the same into engagement with the contacts 61 and 62 the two telephones will be brought into circuit, the necessary current to' secure the operation of the same being ob,- tained by the usual batteries mounted in the telephone-boxes. When the two telephones are in circuit, which is established through the connectionswhereinbefore described, the engineers can communicate with each other, and it will be evident that when the switch.- arms are moved off the contacts 31 and 33 the several signal-lamps are cut out.

In Figs. 4 and 5 we have shown an electric switching appliance which operates in a mannor like that situated at the track-switch 46 in order to form a short circuit through which the current travels and which is arranged in proximity to a drawbridge, so as to notify the engineer that the draw is open.

The numeral 60 denotes a lever fulcrumed between the brackets 61 and adapted to engage between depending contact-clips 62 of the yoke-shaped terminal member 63, connected by the wire ,64 with the duplex conductor 3, while one of the brackets 61, which sustain said lever 60, is connected by the wire 65 with the track. This lever has at'its free end a T-head 66, the branches of which are beveled on their upper faces and which is adapted to normally engage under the projection 67, secured to the draw of the bridge or other like structure, so that the currentwill not be normally interrupted at this point. When, however, the draw is opened, the projection .67 will pass off the T-head 66, so that the spring 68, acting against the under .side of said lever, can thrust the same upward with the knife-edge portion 69 thereof between the clips 62, so that the current will be short-circuited exactly as in the manner described in connection with the railway-switch.

The invention is not limited to the construction hereinb'efore set forth, for many variations may be adopted within the scope of on claims.

Having described the invention, what we claim is- 1 In an electric signaling system,.a pair 0 rails, a duplex conductor cotiperative and substantially coextensive with therails and said conductor and rails being divided into sections to thereby form breaks, and the parts of the duplex conductor being insulated from each other, crossover-wires connected with each part of the. conductor and each rail at one break, and connecting-wires united with each part of the conductor and each rail at connections between the generators and a part of the vehicles which travels in contact with the said rails, and compound contact members adapted to travel with the vehicles and having sections insulated from each other and adapted to engage the parts of said duplex conductor, and electrically connected with said signals.

2. In an electric signaling system, a pair of rails, a duplex conductor cooperative and substantially coextensive with the rails and said conductor and rails being divided into sections to thereby form breaks, and the parts of the duplex conductor being insulated from each other, crossover-wires being connected with each part of the conductor and each rail at one break, and connecting-wires united with each part of the conductor and each rail at another break, and said crossover-wires and connecting-wires being arranged in alternation, combined with vehicles having signals distinguishable from one another, generators electrically connected with the signals, connections between the generators and a part of the vehicles which travels in contact with the said rails, compound contact members adapted to travel with the vehicles and having sections insulated from each other adapted to engage the parts of said duplex conductor and electrically connected with said signals, electromagnets in circuit with the respective signals, local circuits each having a signal of a kind different from the first-mentioned signals, and armatures for said magnets constituting circuit-closers for said local circuits.

3. In an electric signaling system, a pair of rails, a duplex conductor cooperative and substantially coextensive with the rails, and said conductor and rails being divided into sections to thereby form breaks and the parts of the duplex conductors being insulated from each other, crossover-wires connecting each part of the duplex conductor to each rail at one break, and connecting-wires united with each of the conductors and each rail at another break, and said crossover-wires and connecting-wires being arranged in alternation combined with vehicles having lamps of diflerent colors, generators electrically connected with the lamps, connections between the generators and a part of the vehicles which travels in contact with the said rails,

compound contact members adapted to travel with the vehicles and having sections insulated from each other and adapted to engage the parts of said duplex conductor and electrically connected with said signals, electromagnets in circuit with said lamps, local circuits each having a bell, and armatures for said magnets constituting circuit-closers for said local circuits.

4. In an electric signaling system, a pair of rails, aduplex conductor cooperative and substantially coextensive with the rails, and said conductor and rails being divided into sections to thereby form breaks, and the parts of the duplex conductors being insulated from each other, crossover-wires connecting each part of the conductor to each rail at one break, and connecting-wires united with each part of the conductor and each rail at another break, and said crossover-wires and connecting-wires being arranged in alternation combined with vehicles having visual signals distinguishable from each other, generators electrically connected with said signals, connections between the generators and a part of the vehicles which travels in contact with said rails, compound contact members adapted to travel with the vehicles and having sections insulated from each other, and adapted to engage the parts of said duplex conductor and electrically connected with said signals, electromagnets in circuit with said signals, local circuits each having audible signals, and armatures for said magnets constituting circuit-closers for said local circuits.

5. In an electric signaling system, a pair of rails, a duplex conductor arranged between the rails and substantially coextensive therewith, and said conductor and rails being divided into sections to thereby form breaks, and the parts of the duplex conductor being insulated from each other, crossoverwires connecting each part of the conductor and each rail at one break and connecting-wires united with each part of the conductor and each rail at another break, and said crossoverwires and connecting-wires being arranged in alternation combined with vehicles having signals distinguishable from each other, generators electrically connected with said signals, connections between the generators and the wheels of the vehicles, and compound contact members adapted to travel with the vehicle and having sections insulated from each other and adapted to engage the parts of said duplex conductor, and electrically connected with said signals.

6. In an electric signaling system, a pair of rails, a duplex cond uctor cooperative and substantially coextensive with the rails, said conductor and rails being divided into sections to thereby form breaks, and the parts of the duplex conductor being insulated from each other, crossover-wires connecting each part of the duplex conductor and each rail at one break and connecting-wires uniting each part of the conductor and each rail at another break and said crossover-wires and connecting-wires being arranged in alternation combined with vehicles, signals distinguishable from each other on the vehicles, telephones also on the vehicles, electrical connections between the signals and telephones and rails and duplex conductor each of the connections including a battery, and switches on the vehicles for closing either the signal or telephone circuits.

7. In an electric signaling system, a pair of rails, a duplex conductor cooperative and substantially coextensive with the rails, said conductor and rails being divided into sections to thereby form breaks, and the parts of the duplex conductor being insulated from each other, crossover-wires connecting each part of the duplex conductor and each rail at one break and connecting-wires uniting each part of the conductor and each rail at another break and said crossover-wires and connecting-wires being arranged in alternation combined with vehicles, signals distinguishable from each other on the vehicles, and electrical connections between the signals and the rails and duplex conductor.

8. In an electric signaling device, a pair of rails, a duplex conductor cooperative and substantially coextensive with the rails, said conductor and rails being divided into sections to thereby form breaks, and the parts of the duplex conductor being insulated from each other, crossover-wires connecting each part of the duplex conductor and each rail at one break and connecting-wires uniting each part 

